Fatima Sana Shaikh had remained tight-lipped about the project as she shot with Anil Kapoor and his actor-son Harsh Varrdhan across Rajasthan in early January, while teasing her fans with pictures from the sets. Now, as details have emerged about the Netflix film, tentatively titled Thar, Shaikh can share her excitement about collaborating with the senior actor. “It’s amazing to see how energetic he is; he is like an 18-year-old on the set. I remember meeting him first after Dangal [2016]. He was so warm to Sanya [Malhotra] and me. He loves interacting with new talent, and talks to them in a way that inspires them,” she says.

In the course of giving shape to the web film, the actor found a voice of wisdom in Kapoor, as she learnt from his experiences in the industry. Crediting him for quelling her apprehension about approaching filmmakers for roles, she says, “He [recounted] how he was a hustler in his [young days]. He would tell me proudly, ‘I would reach out to so-and-so and ask him why he is not casting me.’ So, as actors, there is no harm in asking for work.”